Top 10 Largest Deserts in the World You Might Not Know

Antarctic Desert, also known as the Southern Polar Desert, is the largest and coldest desert on Earth. Unlike typical dry and arid deserts, Antarctica is a unique icy desert where sunlight is absent for an entire year. It receives minimal precipitation, only about 50mm per year, mostly in the form of snow. This makes Antarctica extremely water-scarce. The harsh climate and super-low humidity, caused by rapid evaporation exceeding the minimal rainfall, contribute to its desert classification. In reality, Antarctica is an icy cold desert.

Considering its size, Antarctica is currently the largest desert globally, covering an enormous area of approximately 14 million km². It is dominated by the perennial ice sheet, which holds about 90% of Earth's freshwater, with an average thickness of 1.6km. Antarctica serves as the habitat for various wildlife species, including penguins, seals, and some bird species. Being the coldest, windiest, and most isolated continent globally, Antarctica has no human inhabitants. However, scattered across Antarctica, there are temporary research stations housing between 1,000 to 5,000 scientists conducting various studies.

The Arabian Desert is an expansive wilderness in Western Asia, stretching from Yemen to the Persian Gulf and from Oman to Jordan and Iraq. It covers most of the Arabian Peninsula, with an area of 2.33 million km². Ranking as the fourth-largest desert globally and the largest in Asia, it harbors cultural diversity, languages, and various ethnic groups, predominantly following the Islamic faith. The predominant ethnic group in the region is the Arab people, with Arabic being their primary language.

The desert primarily spans the territories of Saudi Arabia, extending into neighboring countries such as Egypt (Sinai), southern Iraq, and southern Jordan. The Arabian Desert borders five countries, reaching into the Persian Gulf, extending into Qatar, and further east covering nearly the entire Abu Dhabi emirate of the United Arab Emirates. Rub' al-Khali stretches beyond Saudi Arabia to western Oman and eastern Yemen.

Detailed Geological Features:

• A sandy corridor known as the Ad-Dahna Desert connects the An-Nafud Desert (65,000 km²) in northern Saudi Arabia to the Rub' Al-Khali in the southeast.
• The Tuwaiq Escarpment is an 800 km-long region comprising cliffs, plateaus, and mountain passes.
• Salt flat areas: Umm al Samim salt flat. Oman's Wahiba Sands: An isolated sea of sand along the eastern coast.
• The Rub' Al-Khali desert is an extensive sand sea extending along a northwest-southeast axis across the Arabian Shelf, reaching the southernmost point into central Yemen.
• Flat, gravel or gypsum-covered plains with sand dunes reaching a maximum height of 250 m.
• The sands are predominantly silicate, consisting of 80-90% quartz and the remaining part feldspar.
• The Arabian Desert holds natural resources like oil, natural gas, phosphate, and sulfur.

The Arabian Desert experiences a tropical and hot desert climate, closely resembling the climate of the Sahara Desert in North Africa. In fact, the Arabian Desert is an extension of the Sahara Desert on the Arabian Peninsula. The climate is predominantly hot and dry, with abundant sunlight throughout the year.

The Sahara Desert (Arabic: الصحراء الكبرى‎, aṣ-Ṣaḥrāʾ al-Kubrā, meaning the great desert) is the largest desert on Earth, ranking as the third-largest overall (after the Antarctic and Arctic) with an area exceeding 9,000,000 km², approximately the size of the United States and China combined. Situated in northern Africa, it is over 2.5 million years old.

Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Atlas Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Red Sea (the Arabian Sea), and Egypt to the east; Sudan and the Niger River Valley to the south. The highest point in the desert is Mount Emi Koussi, standing at 3415 m above sea level, part of the Tibesti Mountains in northern Chad. During the ice ages, the Sahara region was much wetter, supporting diverse flora and fauna. Today, except for the Nile River Valley, where cultivation is possible, and some areas like the northern plateaus near the Mediterranean where olive trees can be grown, most of the region is unsuitable for agriculture.

Despite its vast size, only 2.5 million people inhabit the Sahara. The majority are concentrated in Egypt, Mauritania, Morocco, and Algeria. Major ethnic groups include the Tuareg, Arabs, and black African groups such as the Tubu, Nubians, Zaghawa, Kanuri, Peul or Fulani, Hausa, and Songhai. The largest city in the region is Cairo, the capital of Egypt, situated in the Nile River Valley. Other significant cities include Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, Tamanrasset in Algeria, Timbuktu in Mali, Agadez in Niger, Ghat in Libya, and Faya in Chad.

The Kalahari Desert is a desert covered with sand, and it has been inhabited by humans for a long time. The Kalahari receives less than 500mm of rainfall, with some areas getting only 200mm. Archaeologists have discovered evidence of fires in this region dating back 1 million years. The Kalahari Desert covers an area of 930,000 km2. It is predominantly covered in red-brown sand and lacks lasting surface water. Water drainage occurs through dry valleys, seasonal wetlands, as well as the vast salt pans of the Makgadikgadi Basin in Botswana and the Etosha Pan in Namibia.

However, the Kalahari is not a true desert. Some areas receive over 250 mm of irregular rainfall annually, making them suitable for plant growth. It truly becomes arid in the southwest (under 175 mm of rainfall annually), making the Kalahari a fossil desert. Summer temperatures in the Kalahari range from 20 - 40°C. In winter, it has a dry and cold climate with salt dew at night. Average temperatures in late winter can drop below 0°C.

Gobi Desert spans across the territories of two countries, China and Mongolia, covering an area of 1.3 million km2. Known as one of the world's largest deserts and the largest in Asia, the Gobi offers diverse landscapes and fascinating experiences. In summer, temperatures in the Gobi can soar above 40°C. Despite the extreme weather, ranging from scorching heat to bone-chilling cold, the region continues to attract adventurous travelers seeking exploration and unique experiences. With vast sand dunes, rocky plateaus, and majestic mountains, the Gobi presents breathtaking natural scenery.

The Gobi Desert experiences an average rainfall ranging from 50mm to 200mm, and notably, it has distinct rainy and dry seasons. Known for its harsh winter conditions, temperatures can plummet to -40°C, blanketing the desert in a layer of snow. The Gobi is also a haven for adventurous travelers looking to explore its unique beauty. Additionally, it is in the Gobi Desert that paleontologists have unearthed fossils of long-extinct dinosaur species dating back thousands of years.

The Great Victoria Desert spans a vast area of 647,000 square kilometers (250,000 square miles), making it a truly expansive region. The Great Victoria Desert covers nearly the entire land of Australia, primarily characterized by parallel sand dunes and some salt lakes. The sand dunes are predominantly red from the eastern regions of Australia and transition to a white hue as they move south, mixing with sand from the beaches.

This area is described as a place with unpredictable and variable rainfall. Analyzing data from 1890 to 2005, the average annual rainfall here is approximately 162mm. Due to the harsh environment, the desert is mostly occupied by Aboriginal lands, nature reserves, or vacant land with no cities.

One of the major ecological threats in this region comes from feral camels. Their ancestors were imported from India, Afghanistan, and the Arab world in the 19th century to assist with transportation in the desert. A recent BBC report estimates around 750,000 wild camels are using a significant water source and damaging infrastructure. While considered an effective short-term means of transport, they bring about long-term consequences.

The Great Victoria Desert is part of Australia, home to various Indigenous peoples such as the Pitjantjatjara, Mirning, and Kogara. However, the majority of the desert remains uninhabited due to its harsh climate and terrain. There are vast, pristine conservation areas in the desert, including the Mamungari Conservation Park.

While the Great Victoria Desert may seem vast, let's explore the Patagonia Desert with a colossal expanse of 630,000 square kilometers (260,000 square miles), situated in Argentina. The desert and semi-desert region stretch from the Atlantic Ocean to the Andes Mountains, mainly characterized as a treeless plain (according to the Britannica encyclopedia).

Similar to California's Death Valley, the Patagonia Desert lies in the rain shadow of the Andes mountain range. The intensity of heat here is no less than that of Death Valley. The average annual rainfall ranges from only 160 to 200mm.

According to Susan Woodward, an honorary geography professor at Radford University, Virginia, the harsh environment here is primarily influenced by the terrain. As air masses are forced to move over mountains and deep valleys, they become hotter, and their moisture-holding capacity increases. On the arid side of a mountain range, water evaporates rapidly, creating a dry desert environment.

The Great Basin, also known as the Great Basin Desert, is a vast and arid region in the western United States. Its boundaries depend on how one defines it. The most common definition is a closed watershed or basin with no natural outlet to the sea. It lies nearly between the Wasatch Range in Utah and the Sierra Nevada and lacks a natural hydrological outlet to the ocean, making it a closed basin. The Great Basin desert is shaped by the distribution of characteristic plant species and covers a fairly distinct (albeit smaller) area. The cultural area of the Great Basin is home to several Shoshonean tribes, extending north and east beyond the hydrographic basin. The 'Basin and Range' is a geographical area most easily recognized within the Great Basin, but it extends into the Sonoran and Mojave deserts.

The contiguous mountain plateau, covering 200,000 square miles (520,000 km²), encompasses most of Nevada and over half of Utah as well as parts of the states of California, Idaho, Oregon, and Wyoming. The Great Basin is not a solitary basin but rather a series of contiguous water basins with boundaries on the west edge adjacent to the Sacramento-San Joaquin and Klamath River basins, north boundary adjacent to the Columbia-Snake River basins, and south and east boundaries adjacent to the Colorado River-Green River basins.

Most of the Great Basin, especially northern Nevada, consists of a series of isolated mountain ranges and interspersed valleys. This is a geographic configuration known as the Basin and Range Province. Additionally, the Great Basin has two expansive sinks, remnants of prehistoric lakes that existed in the basin during the last ice age but have since mostly dried up. Lake Bonneville stretched across much of western Utah and into Idaho and Nevada, leaving behind the Great Salt Lake, the Bonneville Salt Flats, Lake Utah, and Lake Sevier. Similarly, Lake Lahontan extended across much of northwest Nevada and neighboring states, leaving behind features such as Black Rock Desert, Carson Sink, Humboldt Sink, Walker Lake, Pyramid Lake, Winnemucca Lake, and Honey Lake.

The Syrian Desert (Arabic: بادية الشام‎, Bādiyat al-Shām), also known as the Syrian steppe, Jordanian steppe, or Badia, is an expansive desert, semi-desert, and steppe spanning 500,000 square kilometers (200,000 square miles) in the Middle East. It corresponds to the southeastern part of Syria, northeastern Jordan, northern Saudi Arabia, and western Iraq. This region constitutes 85% of Jordan's land area and 55% of Syria's. To the south, it borders and blends into the Arabian Desert. The terrain is primarily rocky, with intermittent wadis.

The Syrian Desert borders the Orontes Valley and the Harrat al-Shamah volcanic field to the west, and the Euphrates River to the east. In the north, it abuts a somewhat more fertile grassland region, while to the south, it merges into the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula.

Some sources consider the Syrian Desert and the Hamad Desert to be one, while others posit that Hamad is only the southern plateau, and a few suggest that Hamad is the name for the entire region, with the Syrian Desert referring to the northern steppe. Many parts of the Syrian Desert have distinct names, such as the Palmyra Desert and the Homs Desert. For Iraqis, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert within Iraq's borders is referred to as the 'Western Desert.' Various plant species in the area include Salsola vermiculata, Stipa barbata, Artemisia herba-alba, and Atriplex leucoclada. The ecosystem here faces threats from drought, overgrazing, hunting, and other human activities. Some native fauna species have disappeared. The golden hamster, for example, originates from the Syrian Desert.

Chihuahua is a desert, an ecological region situated along the United States-Mexico border, in the central and northern plateaus of Mexico. It is surrounded by the vast Sierra Madre Occidental to the West, along with the Sierra Madre Oriental to the North. In the United States, it covers parts of New Mexico, a section of Texas west of the Pecos River, and Southeast Arizona. In Mexico, it encompasses the northern half of Chihuahua state, significant portions of Coahuila, northeastern Durango, the extreme north of Zacatecas, and a small part of western Nuevo León. With an area of approximately 362,000 km2 (139,769 sq mi), it is the third-largest desert in the Western Hemisphere and the second-largest in North America, following the Great Basin Desert.

Major mountain ranges within the desert include the Sierra Madre, Sierra del Carmen, Organ Mountains, Franklin Mountains, Sacramento Mountains, Sandia-Manzano Mountains, Magdalena-San Mateo Mountains, Chisos Mountains, Guadalupe Mountains, and the Davis Mountains. These mountain ranges create 'sky islands' with cooler, moister climates amidst the desert, and such elevated areas support both coniferous and deciduous forest vegetation. Chihuahua is a desert situated at higher altitudes compared to the Sonoran Desert to the west, ranging mostly from 600 - 675 m (1,969 - 5,495 ft). As a result, it has a slightly milder climate in summer (though daytime temperatures in June can range from 35 to 40°C, i.e., 95 to 104°F). Winter weather varies from mild to relatively cold, depending on elevation and the development of north winds. While more rainfall occurs compared to most parts of the Southern Great Basin Desert, Sonoran Desert, or Mojave Desert, it still typically receives less than 254 mm (10.0 in) of rainfall annually, with the rainy period mostly in late summer. The average annual rainfall of the Chihuahuan Desert is 235 mm (9.3 in), ranging from 150 - 400 mm (6 - 16 in). Snowfall is minimal, except in higher mountain areas. There are several urban areas in this desert, with Ciudad Juárez being the largest, home to nearly two million people, followed by Chihuahua and Torreon. In the United States, El Paso, Las Cruces, and Roswell are some significant cities in this ecosystem. Albuquerque, Saltillo, and Monterrey are metropolitan areas near the Chihuahuan Desert.

According to the International Nature Conservation Foundation, Chihuahuan may be the most biologically diverse desert globally, although the full catalog of endemic species remains incomplete, and significant degradation over time, primarily due to livestock grazing, has occurred. Many native species have been replaced by Larrea tridentata. The Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) was once abundant here, but now, it stands on the brink of extinction.